Activity and content of antioxidant enzymes in prostate tumors

To investigate the antioxidant enzyme system in blood of men with benign hyperplasia of prostate (BHP) and with prostate adenocarcinoma (CaP). Methods: The spectrophotometrical methods were applied to study content and activity changes of superoxide-dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ceruloplasmin (Cp), tripeptide glutathione (GSH), glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione-reductase (GR). Lipid peroxidation was evaluated using thiobarbituric acid (TBA)-test. Blood plasma and erythrocytes of men with prostate tumors served as the material for the studies; n = 15 for each group. Results: SOD activity was increased in BHP (24.65 ± 1.20 U/µl) and decreased in CaP (11.45 ± 0.89 U/µl), CAT activity remained unaltered in BHP (12.41 ± 0.85 mcat/ml) and was slightly declined in CaP (9.52 ± 0.56 mcat/ml). Cp was increased in both kind of tumors, especially in CaP (54.27 ± 7.22 mg%), as well as GSH (0.736 ± 0.07 µM/l) and GR (0.031 ± 0.002 µM/g.Hemogl/min). GSH-Px was sharply increased in BHP (0.67 ± 0.05 µM/g.Hemogl/min) and reduced in CaP (0.16 ± 0.01 µM/g.Hemogl/min). Conclusion: The development of BHP reflects relatively weakly on blood system as activity and content of antioxidant enzymes are not revealing marked changes in this disease. The significant changes are revealed in case of CaP, showing the reduced functional state of blood antioxidant enzyme system.Цель: исследование системы антиоксидантных ферментов в крови больных c доброкачественной гиперплазией простаты (ДГП) и аденокарциномой простаты (АКП). Методы: изменения содержания и активности супероксид-дисмутазы (СОД), каталазы (КАТ), церулоплазмина (ЦП), трипептида глютатиона (ВГ), глутатион-пероксидазы (ГП) и глутатион-редуктазы (ГР) были изучены спектрофотометрическими методами. Перекисное окисление липидов оценивали с помощью тиобарбитуровой кислоты (TBК-тест). Материалом для исследовании служили плазма крови и эритроциты больных с опухолями простаты, n = 15 для каждой группы. Результаты: активность СОД повышалась в ДГП (24,65 ± 1,20 ед./мкл) и снижалась в АКП (11,45 ± 0,89 ед./мкл). Активность КАТ оставалась неизмененной в ДГП (12,41 ± 0,85 мкат/мл) и слегка снижалась в АКП (9,52 ± 0,56 мкат/мл). Содержание ЦП повышалось в обоих типах опухолей, в особенности в АКП (54,27 ± 7,22 mg%), так же как ВГ (0,736 ± 0,07 мкM/л) и ГР (0,031 ± 0,002 мкМ/г.гемогл/мин). Активность ГП резко возрастала в ДГП (0,67 ± 0,05 мкМ/г.гемогл/мин) и снижалась в АКП (0,16 ± 0,01 мкМ/г.гемогл/мин). Выводы: развитие ДГП сравнительно слабо отражается на системе крови, так как содержание и активность антиоксидантных ферментов не показывают заметных изменении при этой болезни. Значительные изменения были выявлены в группе больных с АКП, что указывало на подавление функционального состояния системы антиоксидантных ферментов крови

Searching for the Layered Structure of Space at the LHC

Alignment of the main energy fluxes along a straight line in a target plane has been observed in families of cosmic ray particles detected in the Pamir mountains. The fraction of events with alignment is statistically significant for families with superhigh energies and large numbers of hadrons. This can be interpreted as evidence for coplanar hard-scattering of secondary hadrons produced in the early stages of the atmospheric cascade development. This phenomenon can be described within the recently proposed "crystal world," with latticized and anisotropic spatial dimensions. Planar events are expected to dominate particle collisions at a hard-scattering energy exceeding the scale \Lambda_3 at which space transitions from 3D \rightleftharpoons 2D. We study specific collider signatures that will test this hypothesis. We show that the energy-spectrum of Drell-Yan scattering and the parton momenta sum rule are significantly modified in this framework. At the LHC, two jet and three jet events are necessarily planar, but four jet events can test the hypothesis. Accordingly, we study in a model-independent way the 5\sigma discovery reach of the ATLAS and CMS experiments for identifying four jets coplanarities. For the extreme scenario in which all pp \to 4 jet scattering processes become coplanar above \Lambda_3, we show that with an integrated luminosity of 10(100) fb^{-1} the LHC experiments have the potential to discover correlations between jets if \Lambda_3 \alt 1.25(1.6) TeV.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.

The significance of peroxisomes in secondary metabolite biosynthesis in filamentous fungi

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles characterized by a protein-rich matrix surrounded by a single membrane. In filamentous fungi, peroxisomes are crucial for the primary metabolism of several unusual carbon sources used for growth (e.g. fatty acids), but increasing evidence is presented that emphasize the crucial role of these organelles in the formation of a variety of secondary metabolites. In filamentous fungi, peroxisomes also play a role in development and differentiation whereas specialized peroxisomes, the Woronin bodies, play a structural role in plugging septal pores. The biogenesis of peroxisomes in filamentous fungi involves the function of conserved PEX genes, as well as genes that are unique for these organisms. Peroxisomes are also subject to autophagic degradation, a process that involves ATG genes. The interplay between organelle biogenesis and degradation may serve a quality control function, thereby allowing a continuous rejuvenation of the organelle population in the cells

Thermal Dileptons at LHC

We predict dilepton invariant-mass spectra for central 5.5 ATeV Pb-Pb collisions at LHC. Hadronic emission in the low-mass region is calculated using in-medium spectral functions of light vector mesons within hadronic many-body theory. In the intermediate-mass region thermal radiation from the Quark-Gluon Plasma, evaluated perturbatively with hard-thermal loop corrections, takes over. An important source over the entire mass range are decays of correlated open-charm hadrons, rendering the nuclear modification of charm and bottom spectra a critical ingredient.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, contributed to Workshop on Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC: Last Call for Predictions, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May - 8 Jun 2007 v2: acknowledgment include

NEWSdm Collaboration

Direct Dark Matter searches are nowadays one of the most fervid research topics with many experimental efforts devoted to the search for nuclear recoils induced by the scattering of Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs). Detectors able to reconstruct the direction of the nucleus recoiling against the scattering WIMP are opening a new frontier to possibly extend Dark Matter searches beyond the neutrino background. Exploiting directionality would also prove the galactic origin of Dark Matter with an unambiguous signal-to-background separation. Indeed, the angular distribution of recoiled nuclei is centered around the direction of the Cygnus constellation, while the background distribution is expected to be isotropic. Current directional experiments are based on gas TPC whose sensitivity is limited by the small achievable detector mass. In this paper we present the discovery potential of a directional experiment based on the use of a solid target made of newly developed nuclear emulsions and of optical read-out systems reaching unprecedented nanometric resolution

Wood Utilization Is Dependent on Catalase Activities in the Filamentous Fungus Podospora anserina

Catalases are enzymes that play critical roles in protecting cells against the toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide. They are implicated in various physiological and pathological conditions but some of their functions remain unclear. In order to decipher the role(s) of catalases during the life cycle of Podospora anserina, we analyzed the role of the four monofunctional catalases and one bifunctional catalase-peroxidase genes present in its genome. The five genes were deleted and the phenotypes of each single and all multiple mutants were investigated. Intriguingly, although the genes are differently expressed during the life cycle, catalase activity is dispensable during both vegetative growth and sexual reproduction in laboratory conditions. Catalases are also not essential for cellulose or fatty acid assimilation. In contrast, they are strictly required for efficient utilization of more complex biomass like wood shavings by allowing growth in the presence of lignin. The secreted CATB and cytosolic CAT2 are the major catalases implicated in peroxide resistance, while CAT2 is the major player during complex biomass assimilation. Our results suggest that P. anserina produces external H2O2 to assimilate complex biomass and that catalases are necessary to protect the cells during this process. In addition, the phenotypes of strains lacking only one catalase gene suggest that a decrease of catalase activity improves the capacity of the fungus to degrade complex biomass

SND@LHC: The Scattering and Neutrino Detector at the LHC

SND@LHC is a compact and stand-alone experiment designed to perform measurements with neutrinos produced at the LHC in the pseudo-rapidity region of ${7.2 < \eta < 8.4}$. The experiment is located 480 m downstream of the ATLAS interaction point, in the TI18 tunnel. The detector is composed of a hybrid system based on an 830 kg target made of tungsten plates, interleaved with emulsion and electronic trackers, also acting as an electromagnetic calorimeter, and followed by a hadronic calorimeter and a muon identification system. The detector is able to distinguish interactions of all three neutrino flavours, which allows probing the physics of heavy flavour production at the LHC in the very forward region. This region is of particular interest for future circular colliders and for very high energy astrophysical neutrino experiments. The detector is also able to search for the scattering of Feebly Interacting Particles. In its first phase, the detector will operate throughout LHC Run 3 and collect a total of 250 $\text{fb}^{-1}$